City vs Suburb
The difference between a city and a suburb stems from their location and the infrastructure they contain. The word suburb comes from Latin suburbium, which has two roots namely ‘sub’ meaning under and ‘urb’ meaning city. It is clear then a suburb means areas under a city. In modern times, the word has come to refer to areas adjacent to a prominent city that is well known and has all modern facilities. The areas surrounding and adjacent to this city are those that are comparatively less developed, have lesser population, lesser facilities and wealth, and have less political powers. These suburbs are less famous than the city, which acts as their lifeline. There are many more differences between a city and a suburb that will be highlighted in this article.
There is no need to look up definitions if one is desirous of knowing the differences between a city and a suburb. These differences are discernable to a casual onlooker and it is not necessary to be living in a suburb to know the differences. For one, all the noise and hullabaloo associated with a city are conspicuous by their absence in a suburb. A suburb is lot quieter (may have to do with lesser population and population density as well), and in many cases, less affected by pollution than a city.
What is a City?
A city is usually an area that is the financial, cultural and social center in an area. If you look at New York city it is where all the big financial companies are situated in that whole area. It also is a hub of culture and different races of people living in that area. A city is also usually an area of land that has legal powers as is given by the government of the country. That is why we hear about city limits and so on. If a city was not an accepted unit of governance, people need not concern themselves with city limits and such. One finds many facilities and a well developed infrastructure in place in a city. The seat of administration is always in a city and most of the developmental projects are initiated first in the city than in a suburb.
What is a Suburb?
Facilities may not be so blown out or well developed in a suburb. There are lesser vehicles, lesser markets and cinema halls, fewer number of hotels, pubs and casinos (in fact, there may be none) in a suburb. The younger generation living in suburbs is obsessed with all the glamour of a city and yearns to migrate to city at the drop of a hat but there is also the older generation that has seen it all and knows how hollow the city lifestyle is. This is the generation that knows the value of a quieter and richer lifestyle of a suburb that is pure and peaceful unlike a city where one is always under stress and moving to beat deadlines all the time.
However, there is no gain saying the fact that suburbs get a lot of benefit by being adjacent to a city and one is amazed by the development of a suburb in a matter of decades because of this reason. The city becomes a sort of lifeline for a suburb and most of the population of a suburb looks up to the city for its requirements. However, there are many in city who feel that it is better to live in a peaceful and quieter suburb than in a city to have the twin benefit of living in a peaceful environment and yet being so close to all the amenities and facilities of a city. This is one reason why residential colonies with facilities at par with those in cities are coming up in suburbs and there is a great rush among city dwellers to book their homes in such properties in suburbs.
What is the difference between City and Suburb?
• Definition:
• City is the commercial, cultural and social center of an area. A city is usually an administrative unit as well.
• Suburb is the area surrounding a city.
• Living conditions:
• Usually the living conditions in a city are completed with all the facilities. However, living in a city is much expensive.
• Living conditions in a suburb is not as grand as living in a city. However, cost of living in suburb is less than that of a city.
• Noise and pollution:
• As a result of the huge population in the city, the noise and pollution levels in a city are higher.
• Since a suburb does not have as many people as in a city, noise and pollution levels are down in a suburb.
• Protection and freedom:
• Tightly packed city is a place where your freedom is limited and the crime rate is high.
• Freedom and protection in a suburb is higher.
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